Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal to pick up where they left off by winning their first Premier League title since 2004, when English football’s top flight restarts after the World Cup break.
The Gunners were in excellent form, winning 12 out of 14 games, when the league was suspended in an unprecedented manner to allow the first World Cup to be held in the northern hemisphere’s winter in Qatar.
All season, fans and pundits have debated whether the break will help or hinder the clubs’ ambitions, with Arsenal without Gabriel Jesus after he was sent home from the World Cup with a knee problem in the defeat in Brazil. from Cameroon
Arteta, however, was in good spirits ahead of his return to Premier League action against West Ham at the Emirates in London on Monday.
“You know, I want the team to play a certain way, and the more consistent we are in that, the more we win,” he told Sky Sports.
“There is excitement, and we should be excited and take advantage of the opportunity before us.”
Arsenal are five points clear of current champions Manchester City.
City will be the last of the champions to play on the Boxing Day holiday when they travel to struggling Leeds on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia-backed Newcastle, who are currently in third place, are away at Leicester on Monday.
The Magpies last won the trophy on home soil in 1955 and the north-east club are keen to end that drought, with Howe using five of his Qatar-based players in a 1-0 win over Premier League rivals Bournemouth. place in the round of 16 of the League Cup.
Champions League qualification also remains a real possibility, with Tottenham and Manchester United hot on Newcastle’s heels in fourth and fifth respectively.
– ‘World class’ by Kane
United, given their situation, may be under the most pressure to finish fourth, although manager Erik ten Hag said: “I think for the manager of Chelsea (Graham Potter), Newcastle (Eddie Howe) too, all those clubs have invested a lot in their squad. So , there is a lot of pressure for every coach to enter the Champions League, that’s clear.”
Tottenham travel to Brentford with manager Antonio Conte confident Harry Kane will put his World Cup pain behind him.
The moment Kane missed a penalty on Spurs team-mate Hugo Lloris was pivotal in England’s 2-1 quarter-final loss to France.
“No, actually (I’m not worried) because we’re talking about a world-class striker,” Conte said.
Liverpool will try to restart their season away to Aston Villa on Monday.
Bottom of the table Wolves begin their quest for top-flight survival under new manager Julen Lopetegui, the former Spain and Real Madrid boss who made his Premier League debut away to Everton in midweek when they beat Gillingham in the League Cup.
“For me, the only goal in front of me is the next game,” said Lopetegui, who replaced the sacked Bruno Lage.
Fulham’s game against Crystal Palace on Monday will be the first since the death of 1966 World Cup-winning club great George Cohen at the age of 83.
Premier League chiefs announced there will be standing ovations before every top-flight game between Boxing Day and December 28 in Cohen’s honour, with all players and officials wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.
Conferences (15:00 GMT, unless stated)
Monday: Arsenal vs West Ham (20:00 GMT), Aston Villa vs Liverpool (17:30 GMT), Brentford vs Tottenham (12:30 GMT), Crystal Palace vs Fulham, Everton vs Wolves, Leicester vs Newcastle, Southampton vs Brighton
Tuesday: Chelsea v Bournemouth (17:30 GMT), Manchester United v Nottingham Forest.
Wednesday: Leeds versus Manchester City
AFP
